Paradise and Perdition
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Vengeance consumed her life. Her soul. Her everything. Jellal took everything from her, and so she too, will take everything from him. Even if it costs her her very life Could the intervention of a young man have changed all that? And these odd, strange feelings she has for him...will they grant her paradise? Or perdition? NarutoxKagura. Oneshot? Angst. Fluff. Lemon. Enjoy!


**A/N: Well, I've been meaning to get around to this oneshot for awhile now. This one features the lovely Mikazuchi Kagura! What fate do I have planned for her, you wonder? Well, you'll just have to read and find out now, won't you? Just a little drabble for my newest favorite pairing. Hope you like it!**

_"__I haven't relied on luck since the instant I was born._

_~Kagura Mikazuchi._

**Path**

"You there!"

He kept walking.

"Wait!"

No reaction.

_"Hold!"_

The man paused on the empty road, his dusty sandals stopping in midstride. He turned, presenting the one who had spoken with soft blue eyes. His was a careworn face, that of a man in his mid-to-late _twenties_ a man who'd endured immeasurable horrors to live that long. His was a gaze from another realm. _Another world._ For a moment she was struck by that gaze. Pinnioned by its intensity. Her heart slammed against her chest. He stared back at her in silent challenge, awaiting her response. But she daren't speak. Daren't move. To breathe was to invite his wrath.

"Can I help you...

She was a slim, large-busted woman, long, dark hair lofting around a heart-shaped face, falling to the middle of her back. Idly, he noted it was cut in the traditional Japanese "princess style", if it could be called such. His gaze drifted lowerer. She wore an elaborate blazer with a large collar, open to reveal a collared shirt and tie underneath. The cuffs of this jacket tucked into a pair of gloves, one of which cradled a longsword. On her legs, she bore a pair of black tights, which, like the gloves, were tucked into a pair of thigh-high boots and under a short frilled skirt. He raised his gaze again, amused to see the ribbon in her hair the ends of those bow pointing straight up, lending them the vague but omnipresent appearance of rabbit ears.

_...miss?"_

All in all, she was lovely. Dangerous, but lovely. Him...

_...not so much._

He was dressed like a wandering ronin, wearing little more than his roughshod blue tunic and open-toed sandals. With his goofy grin and straw hat, most would've taken him as little more than a vagabond, a drunkard the like of which stank not of blood, but of sake. A harmless wanderer, whom the world had nothing to fear. The katana hanging at his side warned otherwise. Unlike his bedraggled attire and his filthy, unwashed body, unlike that garrish yellow, toothy grin, the weapon was polished well-maintained.

It too, was not an opponent to underestimate.

Scarlet contrasted sharply with azure, the blue-black hiltwrap tied tied above a hooked tsubasa; the better with which to catch an opponent's blade. She estimated its size to be roughly somewhere between that of the katana or nodachi: a notoriously long weapon known for its reach as well as its power. Not quite the length of her longsword, but still, a considerably deadly weapon. The questioned remained, however. Was its wielder the one she sought? He bore the same _hitiate_ as the last, a faded metal plate bearing the strange insignia of a leaf, but everything about him, his speech, demeanor, and the god-awfufl scent of sake on him, suggested this was not the man she was seeking.

There was only one way to be certain, Kagura Mikazuchi knew. But she was suddenly loathe to attempt it. She'd never been hesitant before. Even on the day in which she'd joined Mermaid Heel, there had been no lack of courage from her soul. But here, here and now, she found herself reluctant. This man might _look_ the fool, but the glint in his eyes said otherwise. But she had to be certain.

She must be certain.

Archenemy, still bound in its sheathe, _still at half its power,_ came hurtling toward his head. _Hard. _At once the man fell backward, his body shifting into a stance his left arm flicking outward at the encroaching weapon; a cobra striking its prey split and then retreateing. Kagura did the same, inspecting her weapon with a keen eye as she distanced herself from her opponent. Strange. There was not so much as a mark to be found. But he had surely lashed out, surely struck something-

"What are you looking at, youngster?" Despite herself, Kagura yelped at his words.

Yelped; because the blond was suddenly upon her, his still sheathed sword slamming into her stomach.

Pain erupted across her midsection, flowering across her body in a deadly lotus of agony. She half-expected her hands to come away crimson. There was no blood. No blood as her trembling hands came away clean and untouched. The swordswoman's gaze snapped up at the sound of movement and her eyes grew large once more.

_"Pay attention!"_

He was on top of her again, his blade slashing sideways at her face. She swiftly leapt back and into the air, her sheathe losing half its length as his covered sword passed through it. She flew up and backwards in retreat when he was suddenly in front of her again, his nodachi rocketing downwards with tremendous speed, both of his fists gripped around the handle. And the sword was still sheathed! Kagura reached up and blocked the strike at the last minute, her unsheathed sword clashing against his in desperate defense. The strength of his attack forced her downwards, her legs buckling beneath the might of his strike. She would have to draw her sword soon. Her opponent wasn't about to give her that chance; as the blonde's overpowered her block, his healt screaming into her wounded stomach for a second time.

Cold fury burned Kagura's world white in a surge of epileptic agony.

She stood up on shaking legs as she looked up at him, the vagabond still towering above her in the air. She could already tell that her right wrist was fractured from the impact of the strike; she'd almost forgotten how incredibly powerful man could be with a sword. She struck out again and suddenly he was past her, his blade slipping back into its sheathe.

"Slow." he remarked casually.

Kagura hazarded a glance at him. At his smug smile, those bright blue eyes-

-and froze.

Obsidian eyes flew wide open, her mouth open in a small, round O as the tattered remains of her bow fluttered away, leaving raven tresses to spill down her back and across her face. Dozens of rips and tears_-hundreds of miniscule cuts-_erupted along the length of her jacket, exposing pale alabaster skin to the world. Her hands flew to her chest, furtively covering her bossom even as the swordsman looked on. Striking with the back of his blade? Impossible! And yet he'd done so. For all the cuts in her clothing, not a one of them was stained with blood. To make so many marks, so swiftly, without drawing blood...it was him! It had to be!

"I've found you." Her eyes glittered with delight despite her ruined blouse. "At long last."

She pulled herself to her feet and Archenemy into her hands as she performed a deep bow, the greeting of student to master.

"Greetings once more," her words oozed respect and admiration. "Naruto-sama."

The vagabond nearly fell over.

"How did you-

"It's been seven years now, hasn't it?"

Blue eyes fluttered open and shut with all the rapidity of a hummingbird's wingspan. Emotion flickered across his face; disbelief, sorrow, shame, relief, before finally setting on a singular emotion, one she recognized all too well. A tiny smile broke out on his chiseled face, like a crack etching along a stone surface. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them until he was uncomfortably close, gazing down at her with intense interest and amazement.

"Kagura-chan?" The blond lifted his straw hat, scrutinizing her, and the blade she wielded. "Welll I'll be damned! It is you! You've gotten bigger! And that's my Archenemy!"

Flushing beneath his praise she bowed deeper, her head hearly scraping the road in her reverence.

"I have made excellent use of it, master." The slightest hint of amusement quirked her lips as she straightened. "Or do you prefer the title of Crimson Fang at present?"

"Oya?" The blond's tiny smirk blossomed into a full blow grin. "It seems my illustrious reptuation preceeds me nowadays. Well now, I suppose there's no need for the disguise anymore...

His form seemed to shimmer, his body rippling with golden light as the effects of the Transformation magic receded. He kept the silly conical hat, but his body seemed to straighten, all traces of grit and grime vanishing from his frame. When next he grinned it was a gorgeous streak of white in the bright afternoon sun. His hand dropped, to the hilt of his weapon, idly fingering its sheathe. The very motion sent a shudder shooting down her spine, but it was nothing compared to the sensation of seeing that blade unsheathed.

Tapered tip and folded steel glinted harshly in the afternoon light, reflecting his stern features: crisp blue eyes, blond hair, and whiskered cheeks. Roughly a quarter in height the sheer size of the blade could be eclipsed by that of Archenemy. But this blade had a name of its own. Whereas he'd taught her the style of the sheathed sword, Naruto's style was as varied as his behavior, as erratic as his moods. His style could not be called a true _style_ in a sense. Under most circumstances he utilized his primary weapon, the nameless nodachi she'd come to both respect and fear. At other times, he wielded two, even the three. The most she'd ever seen him utlilize at once had been seven; three clutched within the knuckles of each fist, and a seventh gripped tight between his teeth. Now, however, he merely wielded a single blade.

Just as his once soiled kimono and hakama were no longer so, his rotting sandals neat and patched as though they'd only just been crafted.

This was the man who'd given her Archenemy, all those years ago. The one who'd taken her after Jellal_-a thousand curses upon him!-_had taken everything from her. He'd forged her in fire. If there was any for whom she cared in this world, it was he. She'd been but a girl, a mere fledgling, when she'd first seen his sword, when he'd first taught her the way of the blade. An ignorant unable to comprehend the life skills he'd lent her. Now, she was a woman. Now she would repay the debt she owed him.

"Master, with your blessing, I aim to enter the Grand Magic Games." She made no mention of her reasoning, that she suspected Jellal would appear, for all the good it did her. Despite this, Naruto sussed her out. Any trace of humor he held vanished in that instant she uttered her intentions.

"I forbid it."

Whatever hope she might've had died along with his words. She was cursing herself, even as she spoke them.

"Then...I shall enter without your blessings."

Naruto flinched as if he'd been struck.

"Kagura...

"This is something I must do." Her expression became pained. "Can you not see that?"

Naruto muttered an impreciation under his breath. Did he find this nostalgic? She was defying him. _Again._ Just as she'd defied him all those years ago in her quest for Jellal. That man had taken everything from her. He had ruined her. Naruto had given her everything back, everything else and more but still, her heart lusted for vengeance. She faced him down, willing him not to fight, not to waste his energy. His death would not be in vain. The years of his life, he'd bequeathed to her would be used well...once she killed Jellal.

"Luck isn't on your side, Kagura." Naruto's growl slaughtered all chance of comrpomise.

She scowled.

"I haven't relied on luck since the instant I was born. You know that. Everything has been the result of my choices. That is what leads my existence towards the future."

"Then the future that awaits you is filled with nothingness and despair." Naruto snapped back, his hand flying to the blade at his side. "I won't let you throw your life away!"

"Just as you threw yours away?!"

Blue eyes gleamed crimson.

"That was not my choice!"

"And this is mine!" Her hands closed around her weapon's ruined sheathe. "I choose vengeance!"

_"Kagura!"_

"Someone like you could never understand." Numbed by her words, she felt herself draw Archenemy for the first time in seven years; the ghastly blade flew free from its sheathe with a mournful wail. They circled one another, neither willing to strike, neither willing to yield. Ultimately it was Kagura struck first, a probbing thrust that was quickly parried. Her dying mentor still had some life left inside him. And he wasted it, with each breath he took against her. She could not stop. She would not be stopped. Riposting, she drew a thin slash across his ribs, crimson trickled forth from the shallow wound. He gasped, staggered backwards.

"Then make me understand!"

_"I will!"_

Uzumaki Naruto slid to the right just as the woman's _katana_ would have decapitated him. He countered with his _nodachi, _the long blade shooting forward as he jabbed at his attacker. Kagura slid backwards and suddenly found herself on the defensive. She was swinging her sword left and right, blocking with both hands on the blade as Naruto lunged forward aggressively. She was soon forced up against the bark of the tree, her eyes widening in surprise as he finished muttering an incantation. Black eyes grew wider still as he reached up high with both arms and brought _his blade _swinging down against her pinned body.

_No-**!**_

The attack was not fatal. She had been able to force herself backwards hard enough to create an indent in the yield bark behind her, causing the slash to simply cut her flesh instead of cleave her in half. Her cheek split diagonally across his face and a thin trickle of crimson sluiced out, the tip of his sword having cut her nose and cheek trough the bone. She struggled to rise, only for the point of his jagged blade to seek her shoulder. A cry of pain flew, unbidden from her lips as her skin was pierced. She would heal, but the wound still stung, left her helpless to his followup attack.

It never came.

"See?!" The blond exclaimed. "Jellal is stronger than me and just now _I_ nearly beheaded you! Any move you make against him will bring about your end!" Tears stung at her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Damn him. He was right. But even so, she could not let it lie. She had to kill Jellal. She must kill him. Else her heart would never know peace. Her friends and family demanded vengeance. Even he who had tempered her with these cumbersome feelings would not last forever. He could die tomorrow, for all she knew. Every instant wasted as another in which he'd never know the truth.

"Stop this foolishness, Kagura!" Naruto demanded and she could see the agony in his eyes. "The next one will end it!"

Kagura seethed beneath his stare. Her shoulders slumped in defeat, but her eyes blazed with fire.

"You are correct"

She lunged.

The blade flew from his hands. A hiss of surprise tore through his lips as he clutched at his numbed hand. The student had become the master.

"How-?"

"You taught me well." Was Kagura's only concession as she erupted into motion. Discarding her sword she pounced, taking advantage of his distraction. Blue eyes bulged as she tackled him, her body driving him off the packed dirt road and down the hill. They wrestled with one another, seeking handholds where none were to be found. Garments tore, clothes were left in tatters. Her cheeks burned as the tattered remnants of her coats fell away and left her exposed, breasts heaving, as her fingernails tore through his hakama, bloodying him with scratches beneath the fabric.

Finally they stopped rolling at the bottom of the hillock, and the babbling of a nearby brook filled her ears. Her struggles grew weaker even as he grew _stronger_ proving his stamina over hers once more. But Kagura was determined, and with last of her strength, she tossed him over her back and into the river. She failed to account for his iron grip on her wrists however, and soon found herself soaked as well.

_Why can't he understand?_ She sobbed inside, praying that it was the river falling from her eyes, not her tears. _I have to kill Jellal. For his sake, too._

"Stop!" When Naruto finally spoke, his words cut through her misery like a hot knife through butter. "That's enough, Kagura!" She wilted beneath his withering gaze but averted her eyes as she renewed her struggles in earnerst, wrestling against him in the river. It proved rather difficult, considering he held her hands and whatnot. And still he fought against her, forcing her into deeper water, forcing her to submit to his will. She could not stop. She would never stop. She...She_...She..._

She knew not when their wrestling turned to fondling nor who whether it was the master or student who initiated first contact. She knew only that keeping her feelings from him had become an utter impossiblity. Those feelings clamored at her breast until it burned, leaving her flush with warmth. In the end it as _she_ who leaned forward with intent and pressed her lips to his. _She_ who dragged him forward her tongue dancing within his mouth as they wrestled in a different fashion. Oh...kami! She found herself forgetting all about Jellal and all about her vengeance as she cleaved herself against Naruto.

She didn't care that he was dying. Didn't care that their union could end at any day, at any moment. She didn't care. She wanted more, _more_ as she drove her mouth against him, seeking his affection his tenderness, a love she'd always wanted but never dared to grasp as she ground her hips against him.

Sparks flew, shivers cascading down her spine with every motion. As he reached up with a hand, squeezing an indefatigable portion of her rear. His right hand sought her bare breast and cupped it, forcing a whimper of pleasure from his student's lips. From there her world shrank to him her and just the breeze upon their bare backs and the water against their waists. Skin against skin hands exploring every inch of one another. Before long he was thrusting inside her and she, writhing with pure ecstasy and sheer pleasure for the first time. Her first time...

"Nnngh...Naruto-sama...

Wonderful.

There could be no other words to describe it.

"I pray you find whatever it is you're looking for, Kagura-chan." he sighed as he exited her.

She kissed him once more, dragging her lips roughly across his in want and need. Let vengeance wait awhile. She was content with him for now. Content to be held in his arms as he pulled her up onto the riverbank, to be with him and him alone. Maybe she had found what she was looking for. Maybe...just maybe...but she daren't speak the words to him. The moment was tentative. Fragile. The slightest word or sound could shatter it forevermore. Kagura wanted it to last. And so she swallowed her feelings for him, for the man she cared for more than anyone else in the world. She laid her head against his chest as sleep took her and contented herself to a weak sounding:

"So do I, sensei."

_...so do I."_

**A/N: *BLUSH* I am NOT used to writing steamy stuff like this! Sooooo...whaddya think? Love? Like? Hate? Remember, we know next to nothingof Kagura's past, save that she hates Jellal and he 'took everything from her' this was but my idea of an elaboration. Continue? Don't continue...? If anyone is guessing Naruto's age, he's currently stuck at the age of his midtwenties due to certain...sorcery. Slowly dying due to having the Kyuubi ripped out of him and subsuquently flung into another dimension. So sad! Anyway I'm off to work, so I hope to read your wonderful review when I return! Hope that clears things up, so...**

**REVIEW, WOULD YOU KINDLY?**

**R&R! =D**


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